Never say never...

As far as I can tell, Chelsea have no real interest in winning the Premier League. The odd cup or a run in Europe suits them just fine. Like Leipzig they're more interested in being the 3rd/4th best team in the country. Maximise profits, work on growing their assets. It's finance. Not football.

And now Rosenior - a BlueCo company man - is in charge. Maybe a top-tier manager with clear ambition and demands will be hired in the summer and maybe Palmer and Fernandez won't be sold. But every time I take a closer look at Chelsea on and off the pitch, I get a sense of deja vu.

This has been evident throughout Maresca's time at the club. He was angry that no ready-made signing was made to replace Colwill last August. And it's clear that he struggled to contend with the sheer volume of players coming and going at the club.

Whether it's the departure of Gallagher, Madueke, Jackson and now speculation over Fernandez and Palmer, it seems as though Chelsea are more interested in moving assets on at the right time, rather than building a team with the right blend of youth and experience.

The vast majority of that money has been spent on extremely young and untested players. Garnacho, Gittens, Hato, Delap... all good prospects. But not exactly world-beaters at this moment in time. And there doesn't seem to be any inclination to try and build a proper title-challenging squad.

Which brings me back to Chelsea. There's no doubt that the current owners have stuck money into the Stamford Bridge club. Since they took over in 2022, their net spend in the transfer window stands at €870m.

That should suggest intent to win things. And yet... something's not quite right.

The club utilise their sister clubs to funnel players to a top-five league. It helps them finish high in the Bundesliga + regular UCL football. And showcase players to sell. Leipzig makes money, Red Bull watches an asset grow in value.

It's not about winning games. It's about accumulating wealth.

However, RB don't write a blank cheque to Leipzig every season. As we know, the German club routinely sell their best players each and every year. That's because players want to play in the PL but also because Leipzig want to make lots of money.

Leipzig are exactly where Red Bull want them to be.

Leipzig are (obviously) part of the Red Bull multi-club group, but sit atop of it as the organisation's main club. That means all the best players from Salzburg, New York, etc. all end up at Leipzig. Which, in turn, helps Leipzig to remain a top four club in the Bundesliga with relative ease.

There was a lot before the tournament.

5-1

4-1

3-1. Inevitable.

And to the surprise of no one, Bayern have bounced back and are now 2-1 up 20 minutes into the second half.